In the time that I’ve taken off, the Jazz have gone from being a .500 team and a perennial loser on the road to being a winner more often than not — at home and on the road. Heck, so far in 2010 they’ve been one of the top teams in the NBA.

They’ve traded Matt Harpring, Eric Maynor, and Ronnie Brewer in two different trades.

The trade of Matt Harpring and Eric Maynor made a lot of sense. In fact, I’m not sure why the draft pick that became Eric Maynor wasn’t traded during the NBA Draft.

The Ronnie Brewer trade also made a lot of sense. With the resurgent Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, Wesley Matthews, and other players becoming free agents at the end of the season, Ronnie Brewer was not likely going to get the contract of a starting shooting guard (which his agent has indicated that he feels that he is worth). The Jazz really wouldn’t have been willing to pay that kind of money, especially when it appears that they have their shooting guard spot slotted for Wesley Matthews rather than Brewer. Knowing that Ronnie wasn’t going to really be pursued at the end of the season, they decided to cut bait now — and get a first round draft pick in the bargain. It’s probably for the best for Ronnie Brewer as well.

The Utah Jazz still appear to have problems playing down to mediocre teams — including the recent loss to the Sacramento Kings and tonight’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, especially on the road.

Of course, they won’t be playing against mediocre teams in the playoffs, so maybe it really doesn’t matter if they can beat these teams or not — except for the seeding from the regular season win-loss record.

Coming up soon, the Jazz will have to sign a free agent to replace Ronnie Brewer. According to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Jazz have to carry 13 players on their active roster, and by trading Brewer for a first round draft pick, they have dropped back down to only 12 players. It remains to be seen whether the Jazz will sign a savvy veteran to help anchor a young ball club or whether they will give another young D-Leaguer (a la Sundiata Gaines) a chance to make the Jazz roster.